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Wet and windy week ahead for Tasmania

Craig McIntosh,
Sunday August 18, 2019 - 14:58 AEST

Australia's southernmost state is about the feel the brunt of the Roaring Forties, with a run of cold fronts lining up to deliver wild weather.

A cold front will reach Tasmania's west coast on Sunday afternoon, and rain ahead of it is already falling. This is the first of four fronts over the coming week, each bringing cold temperatures, strong winds, plenty of rain and highland snow.

Rainfall looks to be plentiful, especially over the western half of the state, during the coming week. Anywhere west of a line from George Town to Dover could see over 150mm by the end of next weekend. Rain totals will be much less over the northeast, which is normal as the clouds lose their moisture source once they have crossed the coast.

Winds will also be strong throughout the week, with the most exposed western and southern coasts likely to cop some gusts over 100km/h with each front. Wednesday and Thursday look particularly windy, so expect severe weather warnings even for places not in the west.

Snow will fall most days this week with the run of fronts, with ski resorts likely to see some fresh snow each day until at least Thursday. Highest parts of the plateau are likely to be the snowiest areas in Australia this coming week, with over half a metre of snow in the forecast. On Monday, snow may fall to as low as 400m, resulting in a Bushwalking Alert being issued by the BoM.

Conditions should settle by early the following week as a slow moving high pressure system blocks any fronts, but the fronts will return soon after.

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15:53 AEST
It was an aptly named Sunday today, with temperatures reaching 28 degrees in the city, and hitting 30 degrees for western Sydney.
A very weak seabreeze and increasing cloud will keep the temperatures up overnight, with the eastern suburbs looking to only drop to 16-to-18 degrees overnight.
On Monday, it will be another warm one.